Analysis of Social Determinants on Cardiovascular Health in Australia

This report delves into the critical issue of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their disproportionate impact on low socioeconomic groups in Australia. It identifies key social determinants, including education, economic stability, employment, health inequity, and environmental factors, as significant contributors to the prevalence and mortality rates of heart disease within this vulnerable population. The report highlights the prevalence and mortality rates of CVD in Australia, emphasizing the disparities between socio-economic groups and the role of social determinants in exacerbating health inequalities. It proposes a comprehensive public health intervention plan that addresses these determinants through strategies such as education, improved access to healthcare, and strengthening community-based programs. The intervention emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts between government, healthcare providers, and community organizations to reduce the burden of heart disease and promote health equity. The report concludes that a structured and multifaceted approach is essential to mitigate the impact of CVD and improve the cardiovascular health outcomes for all Australians.

Running head: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Social Determinants and Cardiovascular Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Executive summary
This report identifies and sheds light on the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases
among the low socioeconomic strata of the Australian Population. It focuses on the various
social determinants that are prevailing in Australia, which majorly influence the development
and susceptibility of heart ailments, for the underprivileged and poverty trodden
communities. A strategic intervention is crucial to mitigate the adverse effects of the
incidence of heart diseases, to address the health inequities and bring forth a public health
plan specifically designed for this purpose. The essential components of such a program
require the implementation of a few crucial factors that will promote and ensure nationwide
health security. Therefore, it can be deduced that by addressing the primary areas of concern,
through necessary health interventions, the prevalence and growth of heart diseases in the low
socioeconomic group can be effectively monitored and thereby, reduced.

2SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
Social determinants of Heart disease for Low Socio-economic group......................................3
Burden of Heart disease within low Socio-economic group..................................................3
 Prevalence rates of CVD in Australian Population.....................................................4
 Mortality rates of CVD in Australian Population........................................................5
Role of the social determinants of health in the burden of heart disease in low socio-
economic group......................................................................................................................6
Interventions to prevent Heart disease for low socioeconomic group.......................................8
Proposed intervention:.........................................................................................................10
Use of education sector in the intervention:.........................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................14

3SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
INTRODUCTION
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is considered to be the primary cause of deaths every
year, globally. World Health Organization reported an estimated 17.9 million deaths, because
of Cardiac ailments, which accounted for 31% of overall deaths worldwide, thereby making it
a serious public health concern. The cardiovascular diseases are attributed by a series of risk,
including the socio-economic causes. Moreover, the upsurge of Cardiovascular disorders has
been sporadic in the Australian scenario as well. Therefore, this study will focus on the
various socioeconomic factors or more specifically, the social indicators related to the
incidences of cardiac disorders in the low socio-economic group of the Australian Population.
Besides, the concept of an evaluative and effective intervention to address one of the
dominant social determinant responsible for the onset of this disease will also be discussed in
this paper.
Social determinants of Heart disease for Low Socio-economic group
The onset and outbreak of CVD have been enormous, leading to increased instances
morbidity, across the vulnerable sections of the Australian Population.
Prevalence rates of CVD in the Australian Population
The Health surveys (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020) stated that in
2014-15, approximately 4.2 million Australian adults, which accounts to near about 18.3%,
suffered from the disease of the circulatory system. Summatively, CVD contributed to
Australia’s total burden of disease, which accounted for 14% approximately.
Moreover, in 2017-2018, the prevalence rates of the disease were substantially high in
the underprivileged areas, compared with that of the advanced localities, which were 6.4%
and 4.8% respectively (The Department of Health, 2016). It also implied that the proportion

4SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
of people with cardiac attacks, stroke and vascular disease was slightly higher among those
living in the underdeveloped areas compared to those in the least disadvantaged or less
developed areas.
Mortality rates of CVD in the Australian Population
It was also found that the death rates of CVD are predominantly higher in lower
socio-economic groups (1.5 times high), along with a noticeable rise (1.4 times higher) in the
occurrence rate of the ailment in rural and remote areas compared to that in cities (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020).
Role of the social determinants of health in the burden of heart disease in the low
socioeconomic group
World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health quite broadly as
“the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, and the systems put
in place to deal with illness”. Moreover, these are the reasons which set the basis for the core
indicators of health. These social determinants are an array of the influencing factors present
in the vicinity of an individual, that shapes and modulates health conditions. They are often
aligned interchangeably with Socio-Economic Power (SEP). The underlying influence of
these indicators in developing the disease burden among the lower sections of societal groups
is indomitably relevant and significant as well.
Parameters of Social Indicators are :
Education – Least exposure to educational aspects and resultant insufficiency of knowledge,
are certain mainstream inhibitions present in the vulnerable sections of the Population. In the
Australian forefront also, less extent of educational attainment are associated with a higher
prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (Zhao et al., 2015). This is because a lack of

5SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
education and knowledge results in the sense of ignorance which further creates room for
health anomalies.
For example, Saturated Fats exerts an adverse impact on the human heart (Kaur, Tallman &
Khosla, 2020) – this particular concept is a prevalent guideline for CVD management.
However, a lack of institutional knowledge ultimately interferes with an individual’s
exposure to these specific conceptual guidelines, thereby complicating the health situations
further.
Economic feasibility and employment –Financial sufficiency or stability plays a crucial role
in shaping up the accessibility to health services (Menedon et al., 2015). However, people
belonging to the low-income group of the Australian Population, become susceptible to an
income or economic inequity due to improper exposure to better employment opportunities.
It also, in turn, further drifts this particular stratam of the society from a balanced healthy
lifestyle.
Health inequity and behavioural factors – reduced employment, coupled with subsequent
income disparity, creates a huge difference. From the perspective of the low economic group
of the Australian Population, reduced income incurs an impact on the accessibility of health
services leading to a health inequity among the privileged and underprivileged sections
(Marmot et al., 2018). Moreover, this also evokes the mental stress which gets manifested
through faulty lifestyle traits – smoking and alcoholism. This further adds on to the lifestyle
mediated risk factors of CVD.
Environmental factors – lack of proper space in the inhibitive environment (Havranek et al.,
2017) of this target group, paves the way for leading a sedentary lifestyle which is one of the
prime factors for developing CVD.

6SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
Interventions to prevent Heart disease for low socioeconomic group
Heart disease has taken the shape of an endemic globally. The range of preventable
disorders that entail cardiovascular diseases is projected to grow exponentially in the next
two decades (Savarese & Lund, 2017). Therefore, urgent action is necessary now to prevent
and reverse the epidemic of heart disease.
It is, therefore, necessary to generate and utilize tools to considerably lessen the
devastating effect that heart diseases have on individuals, communities, and the country’s
economy. A heart-healthy nation can be achieved through establishing a significant public
health intervention that addresses the social determinants of heart diseases as well as
proposes a lifestyle and public health nutrition design to be implemented (Clifford et al.,
2015). The proposed action plan will provide healthcare professionals and policymakers an
agenda and structure based on which they can design a health care system, which uniformly
supports cure and prevention (Benjamin et al., 2017). Collaborative efforts of private and
public health sectors, non-profit and social welfare services, and public health and
community professionals will help bring forth an effective intervention to tackle the
impending challenge and burden of heart disease worldwide.
Proposed intervention:
This Action Plan provides a broad public health approach to aid in identifying the
primary areas of concern and addressing them to improve overall cardiovascular health
through appropriate measures, treatment and management of risk factors; early diagnosis and
cure of heart attacks; and elimination of periodic cardiovascular incidents. These depend on a
balanced and even focus on investing in significant intervention plans, from government

7SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
initiatives, social policies and environmental modifications to assessing and controlling the
risk determinants to ensure quality care for all the victims of cardiovascular heart disease.
There are few components crucial to developing an integrated strategic plan for the
prevention of the heart disease epidemic. It is vital to acknowledge and consider the various
factors that influence the prognosis of the diseases and identifying them successfully to
mitigate the gap that exists in the global challenge of heart health concerns. Therefore, the
following are the critical components that need to be addressed:
 Undertaking action to transform the current knowledge about the prevalence and
incidences of heart diseases to plan and design effective interventions that can
correctly assess the risk factors that mediate the progression of such conditions. Social
determinants of cardiovascular health must be detected, and the action should be
taken against them (Thornton et al., 2016). Current health inequities should be
removed and worked upon, to ensure equal access to treatment plans, medications and
healthcare systems. The underprivileged must be provided with uniform
opportunities.
 Strengthening the capacity of different collaborations between governmental, non-
governmental and health agencies that are already working for the public health strata
(Rutledge et al., 2018). Transforming the infrastructure with new faculties and
resources will lead to widening the essential partnerships to initiate and sustain the
public health programs.
 Examining the impact of different health policies and programs through regular
monitoring and a systemic evaluation is necessary to implement successful
interventions (Purnell et al., 2016). Ensuring competent policy issues and pursuing the
required remedial research to settle them and accelerate the process of policy

8SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
development. Engagement and active participation between regional and international
collaborations who are tackling similar health challenges.
Use of the education sector in the intervention:
Different areas should also be involved that can address the impending issues.
Bridging the gaps between education and healthcare strategies is equally important to ensure
the effectiveness of a proposed intervention (Hahn & Truman, 2015). Education programs
and awareness campaigns act as crucial elements in propagating correct knowledge regarding
good nutrition practices, healthy lifestyle choices and available resources that can be
leveraged for the benefit of ordinary people, especially the low socioeconomic group.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that heart diseases are one of the primary health concerns,
which gives rise to an increased mortality rate in Australia. Over a significant period, onset
and occurrence of the disease have been taken a large shape, leading to an ever-growing
burden across the Australian Population. This impending burden has dramatically affected the
individuals belonging to the low socioeconomic group, who are still underprivileged in terms
of resources and healthcare access. They are mainly driven by social factors such as lack of
education and health illiteracy, unemployment, economic constraints and environmental
disparities, all of which renders them susceptible to heart disease. A structured public health
intervention should be urgently implemented that addresses the affected areas of concern,
with a vision to mitigate the adverse conditions.

9SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
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